Stop Smoking Medicines
By Tom Dainty

If you have tried and failed to quit smoking several times, you may be thinking about turning to stop smoking medicines to help you overcome your habit. It seems like quite a rational step to take if the other methods have failed you, but there are many things to understand if you want to take the medicinal approach.

The three main stop smoking medicines in use today and discussed below are nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), Zyban and Chantix.

Tobacco companies have known for decades that the addictive element of cigarettes and tobacco in general is nicotine. Indeed, in the 1960's, internal research (published in response to lawsuits against tobacco companies in the 1990s) had concluded that any reduction in nicotine content would certainly be detrimental to the industry as people would be able to stop smoking more readily with a subsequent impact on sales.

You see, the only reason why you continue to smoke is because you are addicted to nicotine. Most smokers think that it is because they enjoy smoking but this is not genuinely the case. The urge to smoke is not brought about by the need for cigarette smoke coursing down your throat and into your lungs. The urge to smoke comes from a smoker's dependence upon nicotine and cigarettes being the place to get it.

One of the early stop smoking medicines launched back in the 1970s was the nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) approach to stopping smoking using gum. This has been followed with lozenges, tablets, nasal sprays, inhalers and patches. Whilst not strictly a medicine, the concept was simple; cigarette smoke is bad, nicotine is not bad for you in the doses available, therefore, deliver nicotine in a non-smoke form and smokers can stop smoking!

The idea seems to be logical but if you have ever tried to stop smoking using nicotine replacement therapy, you will know that it is not easy. In fact, initially, you are only about twice as likely to stop smoking using nicotine replacement therapy, as you would be quitting cold turkey.

The flaw in this approach is that you only smoke to get nicotine. If you get nicotine from another source, you are maintaining your addiction to it and therefore, still liable to crave it. If you still crave nicotine, you are at risk of smoking in order to get it. Nicotine replacement therapy solves the symptoms of nicotine addiction by providing nicotine; it does not solve the cause of the problem itself, which is nicotine addiction!

Whilst it is widely accepted that NRT helps about twice as many smokers quit as those who quit using cold turkey, other research has found that after around 12 months, there is no increased success in NRT users compared to non-NRT users.

Another of the stop smoking medicines available is Zyban, which is also known as wellbutrin. Zyban was developed as an anti-depressant but found to increase the incidence of smoking cessation in trial subjects during it clinical trials as an anti-depressant.

As a prescription drug, Zyban is only available after a consultation with your doctor and it is imperative that you see a doctor due to the potential complications that can arise using Zyban. People with high blood pressure (common among smokers) are one group that should consider very carefully, the merits of using such a medication.

The long term success rate of Zyban is thought to be around 15% which is considerably lower than the success rates first published by manufacturer sponsored studies. It is often used in conjunction with NRT too.

Finally, the latest introduction in the medical profession's armoury of stop smoking medicines is Chantix (sold as Champix in Europe). Its manufacturers Pfizer, claim that it has a 44% success rate but peer review has found this claim to be a little flattering to say the least. It would be fair to say that the long-term cessation rate for smokers quitting with this drug is about 22% which is still an impressive result.

It is understood to work by blocking the effect of nicotine in the brain. This means that smokers have a reduced craving for nicotine and if they do smoke, they get little or no emotional reward for doing so (unlike how they feel if they are Chantix free). In effect, smoking becomes pointless to them.

Anecdotally, people either rave about this drug or complain of the side effects that can be suffered from using it. Many have to abandon treatment due to the severity of the side effects.

A final comment to consider if you are thinking of seeing your doctor to use a stop smoking medication is this: An Australian study found that of all the people who had quit smoking, nearly 90% of permanent quitters had done so without the use of any chemical aids such as these medication, but using education and willpower to overcome their addiction.

Quitting smoking is not really about a short period of time off smoking, it is really about being able to stop smoking for good. That is where the health benefits lie.

Tom Dainty is a quit smoking therapist and author of The Quit Smoking Bible, a cognitive behavioural therapy approach to quitting smoking. His work is only available from http://quitsmokingbible.com